A child has avoided a criminal damage charge after accidentally punching hole through a £1million painting at a gallery in Taiwan.

The 12-year-old boy was the unfortunate cause of damage to the 350-year-old oil painting by Italian artist Paolo Porpora.

In CCTV footage taken at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, the boy is seen stumbling into the artwork, named 'Flowers', and damaging the canvas with his hand as he stopped himself from falling to the floor while holding a drink.